Hope
by Little Miss Writing Prodigy
Summary: ONESHOT And, even when all hope seemed lost, Rantarou Amami still managed to keep Kaede Akamatsu from despairing. NDRV3 kids, implied Kaede x Amami


_**Lordy, we barely know anything about these kids but the fandom's already spilling with fanfics and art**_

 _ **I apologize in advance because the angst in this is going to get brutal.**_

* * *

Silence, dead silence as all eyes were set on the wheel up front, watching as the wheel spun and spun and spun; watching with held breaths as the wheel finally stopped on someone's picture. The blackened.

Kaede turned away, nails clutching and nearly digging through the wood of her lectern. Her grip tightened as she spotted Shirogane's dull blue eyes switch from the blackened and to her in almost sympathy; and Kaede _hated_ it.

She _hated_ that she trusted him. _Hated_ that she didn't see this coming. _Hated_ that she had been _so naive._

But, most of all, she hated that she couldn't bring herself to hate him.

She didn't want to believe- _couldn't_ believe that he would go as far as murdering someone; that he had betrayed their trust without even a second thought. She hated it, she hated it, she hated it.

 _Why didn't she hate him?_

Still, as much as she refused to admit it, it was still true. All the signs, all the evidence, it pointed towards him. The barbed wire, the blood, one of his piercings stuck in Ouma's clothes from the struggle. It all pointed towards him, and to Kaede, this all seemed like an evil and cruel prank. There was nothing even remotely funny about it, and soon, the cruel joke turned into nothing more than an endless nightmare. An endless nightmare because he had _killed,_ and she had _trusted_ him and he had _promised_ and just- just _why?!_

It took all of her courage and willpower for the girl to force her head up, tearful lavender eyes glancing once more at the large wheel with all of their heads depicted on it in small, pixelated forms. The yellow-orange pointer had stopped right in the middle of his picture, not even slightly tilted to the left or right. The arrow was pointed straight at him and none of them could deny the truth behind that small gesture. He was the blackened. He had killed Ouma. He had betrayed them. And he had played right into Monokuma's game.

After all, Kaede herself had provided enough evidence and, with Saihara's help, had proven the truth of his actions.

More silence, more of that deafening and absolutely _heart-wrenching_ silence, because they _knew._ All of her classmates; Angie, Saihara, Shirogane, Hoshi, Iruma, Tenko, Harukawa, Momota, Shinguji, hell, even _Kiibo._ They knew how she felt, they knew and held sympathy for what she must be feeling right now. It hadn't been that hard to guess. After all, Kaede hadn't really tried her best to hide it. At this point, she guessed that he himself knew as well because he was just _so damn perceptive_ and that made it even harder to believe that someone with such sharp senses and firm beliefs could go as far as _murdering_ someone.

He had told her, had told her time and time again that he'd stay with her; that he'd stay by her side and never stray from it during this whole ordeal. Had even claimed that he wouldn't leave even after they got out of this horrid place.

His smiles, his jokes, his ability to stay eerily calm no matter the situation, his ability to send shivers down anyone's spine just by simply staring at them with those _knowing_ and _calculating_ eyes of his.

His _promises._

 _What happened?_

Kaede couldn't think, couldn't process the thoughts forming in her mind. She didn't even know if she could _breathe._ Was she? _She didn't know, she didn't know, she didn't know._

From her left, she could feel Yumeno's small, dainty hand placed on her shoulder, giving a light and gentle squeeze as a form of comfort, as a way to ease the pain a little. But right now, Kaede didn't need comfort, she needed this nightmare to be over, she needed him back at her side without ever having even _thought_ of murdering someone. She needed Ouma alive and well as proof that nothing had happened, that all of this was just a sick joke and that this would be over.

But, from the way Toujo was looking at her and Gonta was gripping his desk to the point of near-breaking, she knew she should just accept the truth by now. She _should,_ but that didn't mean that she would.

Yumeno started rolling her thumb across her shoulder, and Kaede forced herself to straighten up, face impassive despite the tears which she hadn't even bothered to wipe rolling down her cheeks. Her classmates- no, her _friends_ were counting on her. If she broke down now, who knows just what would happen next? She needed to stay strong, no matter what.

No matter the aching pain she felt in her chest.

Kaede shot a quick, soft and grateful smile down at Yumeno, making sure not to spare a single glance at the boy who she just _knew_ was watching her with his ever-calculating and somewhat tantalizing gaze; in fear of losing herself once again. The short, redheaded magician smiled back up at her almost warily, and then-

 _"It's punishment time!"_

Three simple words and Kaede almost lost her composure again. _Almost._

Her face went blank, the forced smile wiping off almost instantly and to her right, Harukawa turned her body in alertness; eyeing the blonde with (admittedly unwanted) mother instincts that told her to just take the poor girl out of here and somewhere where she wouldn't have to suffer like this, somewhere safe. A few stands further down was Saihara knocking his knuckles repeatedly against the wood while his foot irritably kept tapping against the ground. A nervous tick. He didn't like this, not at all; the SHSL detective had never seen Kaede look this disheveled before and it irked him, to say the least. It irked him because this just wasn't _her._ He wanted nothing more than to rush over and help her, but he knew that, for the time being, he couldn't really _do_ anything as long as they were standing there. The trial technically wasn't over yet without a proper punishment being given, and Monokuma wouldn't allow any type of comfort until done so.

Kaede could hear Monokuma jumping off his high-placed throne while babbling on and on about how he had modified this particular execution to the T to match the blackened's talent perfectly, because _yes,_ the sadistic two-toned bear knew very well what his mystery talent was, and soon, all of them would come to find out too; just in the absolute worst way possible.

The footsteps of the grinning bear were haunting, and Kaede found that the little control she had just a second ago was fading as her fingers started to tremble. Behind her, the Monokuma Cubs were giggling about what was going to happen, and it absolutely _disgusted_ her. She wanted to hurl, wanted to run, scream, cry, _anything_ to get out of here. The blonde could faintly hear Harukawa's gentle and soothing words directed at her, and the SHSL Pianist dully noted that, even if the red eyed girl despised her talent; she knew how to put it to use pretty well. Even her tone was calming, and the effect seemed to work wonders on her as Kaede's fingers slowly stopped trembling. However, that was only one problem solved, she still was dangerously hanging on the bridge of anxiety and all of them knew it.

 _Please, Lord, make it stop._

He was as calm and cool as ever as Monokuma walked over to him; tearing his gaze off the broken girl to stare down at the bear with cold, detached, yet impassive eyes. He didn't react as the chains were put on him way tighter than obviously needed, since it didn't seem like he would be resisting anytime soon. He had accepted everything that would follow, and that just made it all the worse. Kaede couldn't see him, _refused_ to see him since she was already so far gone. But she couldn't hear anything, couldn't hear yelling or resisting, and from the lack of struggle, she could deduce that he had known all of this would happen while he murdered Ouma. He had _known,_ which meant he had _planned_ everything in advance and _purposefully left evidence behind so they could catch him._

Stop it, stop it, _make it stop!_

Angie wrapped her arms around herself, looking down at the ground with dull eyes as he walked past her. The chipper, eccentric girl liked everyone, yes, but seeing one of her closest friends lose all hope was enough to make the situation even more painful than it already was. She also knew that, if she was able to get herself back up after this, Kaede would act as if nothing was wrong and that just _hurt_ because then the usual hopeful girl would be suffering all alone and there was nothing they could do about it.

Monokuma kept endlessly chattering on and on as if he were just making conversation with an old acquaintance, the rusted, silvery chains that were tightly wrapped around the murderer's hands held in one of his paws as he lead him into the execution room. The culprit himself, however, had maintained silent the entire time; something that wasn't unusual for him at times like these. He liked talking, don't get her wrong, he just preferred to stay silent and watch until absolutely necessary during class trials or other serious situations. It added to his overal all knowing, calculating and yet eerily composed demeanor.

He kept walking, still not showing even an ounce of distress despite knowing fully well just what his soon to be future would hold.

"Wait, hold on a second."

He suddenly stopped walking, and Kaede tensed up at sensing his presence lingering right behind her.

 _No, no, no, no, no, no, why was Monokuma allowing this?!_

Knowing the twisted, bipolar bear, he had most likely already picked up on Kaede's fragile state of mind and wanted to exploit it to the best of his ability so he could bring as much despair as possible. It was cruel, it was familiar, it was _Monokuma._

"Kaede."

She whimpered, her fingers digging into her hair as she slumped over her desk and shook her head violently at hearing his voice calling out to her. His tone was soft, calming and endearing; the tone he always used and it usually worked ten times better in calming her than Harukawa's had. Not now, though. Now it just _hurt_ because she wanted to look at him, she _wanted_ to turn but at the same time she _didn't_ because she knew that if she did, she'd break.

The blonde could hear him sigh and shift in place, the calm and collected movements exactly the same as he had done many times before and Kaede squeezed her lavender eyes shut almost painfully, her fingers digging deeper into her hair and reaching her scalp but she _just kept pushing,_ not feeling the pain of her sharp nails digging into her skin at all and it wasn't until Yumeno and Harukawa tugged at her arms a little to lessen her grip that she became aware of the slight ache in her scalp.

"Kaede, look at me."

His soft order made her whimper again, and she brokenly whispered out a painful 'no' while holding on to the lectern for dear life because Lord knows she'd lose all the feeling in her legs and fall if she hadn't. Still, it didn't seem like he would be taking no for an answer because Kaede could feel him stepping closer, slowly reaching out to lightly tug at her arm and grasp her hand and she whirled around; forcefully ripping her hand out of his own and she realized that she just had made the biggest mistake in her life because Kaede Akamatsu found herself staring straight into Rantarou Amami's eyes.

He smiled, _he actually had the nerve to smile_ as he whispered a soft 'hey' and that alone broke the barrier she had built up as the waterworks flowed without stopping.

Amami sighed, glancing back at Monokuma who was watching with mild interest and delight, but wouldn't be allowing this to drag on any further from the looks of it. So, he stepped forward, leaning closer towards the girl he had grown to trust with his life since they had met and placed his lips at her ear. "Ouma was planning to kill you," he whispered, pulling away and Kaede couldn't take it. She broke down.

Her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground, not being able to hear Saihara's yell of _"Akamatsu!"_ nor feel both Harukawa and Yumeno simultaneously rushing towards her aid since they were standing the closest to her as the detective made his way over.

And, as Monokuma laughed in a sadistic sense of pleasure, Amami could only watch on sadly while being dragged away; his usual cheerful and happy smile replaced by a sad one and he didn't even have the willpower to resist against the self-proclaimed headmaster of the school dragging him to his inevitable demise. He knew for a fact that if he _had_ struggled, he'd only be making this worse on Kaede.

It was worth it, all of it was. Ouma was dead-set on killing someone, and she just had been an unfortunate pick. If he hadn't done anything, then Kaede would've been the one dead now, not him. And while he was sure that he, Saihara and the others could've easily exposed the SHSL Supreme Leader for what he really was; Kaede still would've been dead and he _wasn't_ about to just let that happen.

He didn't have any other choice.

He was a murderer now, he knew that, and it made him feel disgusted with himself. Still, the disgust was overshadowed by his relief of having saved her, and he had also purposefully left his piercing behind as evidence so they wouldn't make a mistake and get themselves all killed in the end. He had done a good thing, and what followed didn't matter.

Kaede's cries just grew louder as Saihara reached her and pulled her closer, meeting Amami's eyes with clear hostility but the boy could see the hint of confusion hidden in them. He doubted he had killed Ouma just for the sake of getting out of here.

The blonde shifted, lavender eyes meeting Amami's green ones and he bit his tongue to the point of tasting blood to clear his expression of any emotion while meeting her stare. Monokuma pushed the red doors open, dragging him in, and the sound of her calling his name in despair broke him just long enough for her to see the ultimately pained expression for a split second before the mask went back up and the door slammed shut.

* * *

 _"Upupupupu, well isn't this just despair-inducing!"_

Kaede could only stare, fingers hooking into the holes of the wire fence as she gaped at the scene before her. He lay there, in a pool of his own blood after having just suffered through his brutal execution. The rapid rise and fall of his chest indicated that he was still breathing, and Monokuma had left it at that, deciding that letting him live for just a few more minutes wouldn't really make a difference.

Her grip on the fence tightened, rattling at the force as she screamed his name, and he flinched despite the immobility of his broken and beaten body. And, before either Gonta or Tenko could make a grab for her; she was off, pushing the wire door open with much more force than needed and rushing towards where he lay, in the middle of the room.

It wasn't that it wasn't safe to go out or that she was breaking any rules; the execution was over, so what she was doing held no sense of danger whatsoever. Still, by doing this she was essentially giving up on her sanity because seeing him like this from up close would definitely leave more than an impact on her.

As Iruma called for her to come back with more than colorful words, Toujo was already moving to go after her; only to be held back by both Saihara and Harukawa. Both of them understood that, even if this might very well leave a permanent scar on their friend, she needed to do this, needed to properly say goodbye. And, let's face it, she wasn't just about to let him die alone after practically having sacrificed himself for her.

The blonde reached him, falling down beside him in a heap on the floor while getting his blood all over herself and Shirogane sobbed as she watched her friend pull his maimed form into her lap with such gentleness that it was getting all the more painful to watch. Her vision was already starting to get blurry, the flood of tears staining her glasses and blocking her sight. The blue haired SHSL cosplayer didn't making any move to clean them though, figuring that not seeing would be better in this situation.

His voice was extremely weak, pained and raw as he tried his best to call out her name while she yelled, scolded and cursed at him in ways that had even Iruma blinking thrice at the creativity of her vocabulary. Still, all he did was smile up at her weakly and listen to her rant. He knew it was coming, knew it from the moment he had told her the truth. And yet, he cut her off on her rants anyway.

"I know," he told her, after many different ways of her calling him an idiot. He tried not to let the pain show too much in his voice as he talked, but let's face it, when lying in your own blood that was quite a difficult thing to do.

Amami reached up, and she leaned down to make it easier for him as he placed his bloodied hand on her cheek. "So...I guess I...I found out my...talent anyway, huh?"

She nodded, staring down at him with tearful eyes while repeating Yumeno's earlier actions by rubbing her thumb gently across his cheek. "You did," she rasped out, voice cracking and by now even Hoshi, who barely had any reaction to things like these, and Kiibo, who didn't understand the heavy despair lacing the air, could feel their hearts breaking.

 _Rantarou Amami, SHSL Analyst *****_

It fit him.

"Kaede," he spoke, all playfulness gone as he stared up at her and lightly tugged to pull her down.

She did so, leaning down and shifting so she had her head placed in his chest and his blood-soaked shirt stained her hair with the thick, pink substance.

"Promise me...something."

She nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment.

His hand slid up from her cheek to her hair, his movements slow, _very_ slow as he tried his best not to flinch from the all too obvious pain. His grip on her hair tightened, and he whispered. "Don't despair," in her ear, and she violently shook her head.

"I can't. You can't ask me that." She was already on the edge of it, and she couldn't possibly promise him not to after this. It'd be hard not to break that promise, even with Saihara supporting her all the way.

"I...still...am," he replied, almost cheekily, and the laugh from her was filled with nothing but pain as he smiled. "You can."

She tilted her head so she could look up at him, lavender eyes searching his hazy and pained green ones, and she nodded. "I-I promise."

"Good." His breathing slowed, and Kaede panicked.

 _"Amami!"_ She called, sitting up and staring at him in nothing but pure terror. She called again, hesitating for a second before calling out his given name and letting out a loud cry at his lack of response. She buried her face in his chest, her tears mixing with his blood and she didn't care that she was getting the substance all over herself by doing this. She simply held him close, calling out his name over and over while their friends watched on helplessly from behind the fence.

"Akamatsu..." Saihara called from his place in the doorway.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, him, Harukawa, Momota and Shinguji passed through the door and walked closer. And while Harukawa and Saihara worked on gently pulling a struggling and protesting Kaede from Amami's lifeless body; Momota and Shinguji made sure to block her view of him, which did not sit well with her.

 _"I promise!"_ She screamed out, kicking and screaming against Saihara's grip while Harukawa tried her best to calm her. "Amami, I promise I won't despair! I'll get all of us out of this place! I'll figure out who's behind all this and put an end to it! _I promise!"_

With that, she stopped struggling and just allowed herself to slump back into Saihara while the usually stoic and cold Maki Harukawa bit her lip and pulled the blonde girl in for a hug; pressing her head to her chest and rubbing the back of her head comfortingly like a mother would to her child, tears filling her red eyes but refusing to fall while everyone was present.

And, as all of her classmates watched on, none of them doubted the Pianist's words for even a second.

* * *

 _ ***It was either this or Police Officer; I liked this theory better.**_

 _ **Oh wow...I...I actually cried a little while writing this. That's...that has never happened before...**_


End file.
